UPSC Mains Exam: Compulsory Papers which Aspirants’ should not neglect

The UPSC 2017 Mains Exam is around the corners and the aspirants’ who have qualified for the Mains Written Exam would be indulged in their preparation. Keeping in mind the four GS Papers, Essay Paper and Optional Paper of the mains exam decide their fate in the final ranking list, aspirants’ should not forget the importance of the compulsory papers which are qualifying in nature and comprises Compulsory English Paper and Compulsory Indian Language Paper.  Aspirants’ should secure a minimum of 25% in each compulsory paper. If they fail to score the requisite marks in the compulsory papers then their score card would show only the scores of these two language papers and the commission will not disclose their score secured in the GS Papers, Essay and Optional Papers.

Hence, it is important that candidates’ do not neglect the compulsory papers as failing a compulsory language paper would be the greatest stumbling block for candidates’ in the UPSC Mains Exam.

UPSC Syllabus and Nature of the Compulsory Papers of IAS Mains Exam 

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UPSC Syllabus for IAS Mains: Compulsory English Paper

Nature: Qualifying 
Marks: 300 
Duration: 3 Hours

• Comprehension of given passages.
• Precis Writing
• Usage and Vocabulary
• Short Essays 

IAS Syllabus for IAS Mains: Compulsory Indian Language Paper

Nature: Qualifying 
Marks: 300
Duration: 3 Hours

• Comprehension of given passages.
• Precis Writing
• Usage and Vocabulary
• Short Essays
• Translation from English to the Indian Language and vice-versa 

NOTE:

• The question papers on Indian Language and English will be of Matriculation or equivalent standard and will be of qualifying nature only.
• The candidates should answer the English and Indian Language Paper in English and respective Indian Language correspondingly.
• The marks obtained in these papers will be counted for ranking.

It is advised to candidates to refer UPSC previous years’ question papers to understand the nature of questions.

How to tackle UPSC Mains Compulsory Papers?

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To break this barrier called the compulsory papers which are qualifying in nature, all a candidate has to do is tackle these papers in a right way. As the syllabus for these papers is of matriculation level candidates, hence candidates should cover these papers without compromising the core papers of the mains exam.

It is advised to candidates to choose a language based on their present command over the language. They should test themselves and decide on which Indian Language to choose for the compulsory paper of the mains exam as sometimes due to lack of time and practice may turn candidates who were language toppers in the school into borderline candidates.

Key Assessment

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Candidates’ should go through the UPSC previous year’s question papers and try solving the papers. By following this, candidates will understand the type of questions asked in the UPSC Mains Examination and also they can assess their answers and evaluate where they stand and whether they were able to achieve the pass marks or not. It is advised to follow this for both the papers.

Now they have assessed their strengths and weaknesses, all an aspirant has to do is work on their weaknesses and fix it to serve the purpose i.e. to hit the target of 25% to find themselves in the final ranking list assuming they have given their best in the rest of the core papers of the mains exam.

Hope, this article on the importance of compulsory papers of UPSC Mains Examination would be helpful for IAS aspirants’ who are qualified for the UPSC Civil Services Mains Written Examination and they can also leave their suggestions or any points to be included in the article in the below section.